


Strange Necessity

by StarWarsSyl



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Attachment does not equal love in this fic, Cold War, Dubcon Referenced Between Sith & Slave, ExplorCorps, F/F, Gen, Jedi Culture Respected, Original Novel Not Class Story, Rakata Infinite Empire, Slavery, unlikely allies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-12 03:36:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12950454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarWarsSyl/pseuds/StarWarsSyl
Summary: Eegan searches the galaxy for new secrets for a living, not politics. When an opportunity to hunt a millennia-old mystery arises, how can she do anything but accept, even if it means a dangerous partnership and the potential of getting thrown into a war that seems desperate to restart?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you keep your eyes sharp, you might recognize some of the NPCs from the game in this story, however I have no intention of the Person Who Becomes The Outlander interacting with any of these characters. This is not the class story by any stretch of the imagination.
> 
> For those unfamiliar with SWTOR: this story is set a few thousand years before Anakin Skywalker was born. Anything else you need to know will be explained in the novel itself. All you need to begin: Lots of Jedi & Lots of Sith, because this is long before the Rule of Two was invented.

 

“I suppose you think you’re here for the artifact.”

A Core World clip in the accent, a warning tremor in the Force, and the slight clink of armor accompanied the words.

Jedi Knight Eegan Alar did not light her saber.  _ Yet. _ “Would it be reasonable to think you are as well?” Her own voice had a brush of her native Zabrak tongue in its pronunciation.

A movement in the deep shadows caught Eegan’s attention, and for a brief moment she saw a gleam of gold in the darkness.  _ Hello, Sith. _

The warrior stepped into the dim light, heavy blued-durasteel hilts not in her hands, but clipped to her belt.

_ Curious. _

“I suppose the Dark Council sent you,” Eegan offered.

The Sith wore armor that matched her saber, functional and without a feminine shape. Yellow eyes watched out of a purple face, the ridges and tendrils revealing her to be of Sith Pureblood decent. Black hair was swept up out of her face in elegant, effort-intensive coils, leaving her looking like a duchess of some traditional world.

_ Between that and her speech, one could easily mistake her for royalty. _

“And the Jedi Council, you. What word games do you plan to play with me, Jedi?”  
Something else moved to the side, and Eegan carefully rotated to keep both in view. “Brought a friend?”

Looks like she should have tied her hair back this morning after all. Hopefully her horns could keep it out of her face enough should this all go to pieces.

Eegan peered into the shadows, caught sight of a silhouette of lekku.

_You don’t reek in the Force, but you could be deadly all the same._

“Is there a way we can resolve this without it turning into a bloodbath?”

Startled, Eegan’s gaze snapped back to the Sith, who looked at her coolly. “An...  _ odd...  _ question for a Sith.” Her thumb caressed the ignition switch, wary of a trap.

“And to attack in the middle of negotiations would be unusual for a Jedi.” The Sith spread her hands wide. “Yet it’s happened to me.”

In Eegan’s earpiece, Merse’s voice murmured from his sniping position, “Just give the word and down she goes.”

“Does killing Jedi happen a lot?” Eegan asked, a false carelessness in her voice. “I don’t suppose your masters know the war is over, and that killing Jedi breaks the treaty.”

The other woman watched her. “The Republic is the least of my concerns.”

“An interesting thing to say when the Dark Council backs the peace.”

The Sith shrugged her shoulders up, hands outspread. “I have little interest in the war returning. It would make my research even more difficult.”

“Research?”  
The woman did not reply.

“What is so important about this little planet and its collapsed temple?” Eegan pursued.

The Sith paused, her eyes narrowing. “You are not here for the artifact?”

“I am here because a crafted structure was sighted on a planet heretofore assumed to have never housed sentient life.”

The Sith blinked. “Isn’t that a  _ scientist’s _ job?”

Eegan felt a  _ look  _ cross her face, part smile of amusement, part cynical. “Does it  _ look  _ like I expected to find the Sith interested in this place?”

“Some elaboration is required,” the Sith mused. “You’re here to look at rocks.”

“I belong to ExplorCorps.”

Still the Sith looked blank.

_ What do they teach you at the academy, if they don’t teach you about your enemy? _

“We explore the edges of known space, including places too dangerous to tread for those not sensitive to the Force. We’re trailblazers.”

“But you’re looking for  _ something _ ,” the Sith asserted.

Now the smile was fully genuine. “Just for plants and animals we’ve never seen before, people groups we’ve never heard of, new languages, philosophies, and art to explore. Why? What are  _ you  _ looking for?”

“I seek something much older and far stronger than anything that exists today.”

Eegan frowned. “As in extinct species with physical strength or size?”  
“The Rakatan Empire.”

Merse groaned in Eegan’s ear. “A nutjob.  _ Great. _ ”

Eegan ignored him. “You think this structure has something to do with them?”

“It’s old.” The Sith peered up at the ceiling. “Too old. And the statue out front looks too Rakatan to be easily explained as a coincidence.” Golden eyes snapped back to her face. “You have a name, Jedi?”

“Perhaps. Do you?”

“Lord Teragor,” was the ready reply, “at the service of all who mean no harm to the Empire.”

“Creepy liar,” the sniper groused, tempting Eegan to switch her earpiece off. “She’ll stab you the instant your back is turned.”

“And your friend?” Eegan asked, still wary.

Teragor didn’t take her eyes off the brown ones of her light-side counterpart. “Whisper, come greet our Jedi guest.”

The Twi’lek moved to the Sith’s side, her hips and lekku swaying as she glided.

Now in the light, Eegan could see her pink skin, covered in a myriad of tattoos, a dark uniform of fitted jacket and armor over her legs, and a vicious scarring around her neck that the solid black collar she wore did little to hide.

“My Lord,” the Twi’lek rasped, her voice undoubtedly damaged in the disaster that had befallen her throat.

Eegan’s grip on her saber tightened.

“Curious, isn’t it, how you assume  _ I’m _ the one who injured Whisper,” Teragor observed. “But your opinion matters little. Go to the next planet with primitives to carry on your research. What lies within these ruins is beyond your ken.”

Eegan quirked an eye ridge at her. “Is it, now.”

And that’s where it all fell to pieces.

The stone beneath their feet lurched, sending Eegan to a knee and Teragor into the wall.

A hiss from the Twi’lek and curses from Merse joined the rumble of the temple.

“Too late to run,” Teragor announced, drawing her sabers and igniting them. “Stand and fight, Jedi.”

Blue swiftly joined crimson and—  _ violet _ ?

Eegan frowned. That would bear some consideration  _ later— _

The wall slid back with a grating roar that hurt Eegan’s ears, and a foul stench spilled out.

Eegan’s stomach flip-flopped, a distinct  _ concern  _ building.

_ This is not going to be good. _

“It’ll be routine, Merse,” she heard him mock in her ear, feigning her voice, the accent he attempted truly terrible. “What’s better? Boredom out there, or boredom in here?”

Eegan rolled her eyes.

Whisper had two blaster pistols out— _ nice  _ ones,  _ very  _ nice—

_ A Sith with a slave who’s allowed to carry heat? _

This day kept getting stranger.

The creature that oozed its way into the light left Merse swearing in her ear, and Teragor chuckling.

“Look what we have here. And  _ you  _ thought this was a dead end.”

Whisper shook her head and aimed for one of the several eyes clustered together. “Was wrong.”

And then red bolts hissed from the twin pistols, and the distinctive  _ whump  _ of sniper bolts joined, and Eegan ducked as fluid rushed in her direction across the floor.

“Don’t let it touch you, Jedi,” the Sith warned, flinging both hands forward to drive the creature into the wall with the Force.

It swayed as if against a wind, and kept on.

Whisper dove out of the way and rolled, coming up with blasters blazing.

Teragor threw her sabers at the stone ceiling, carving great, glowing score marks into it.

“What are we trying to do?” Eegan called.

The Sith caught her sabers, then sent them up again, dancing out of the amorphous beast’s way. “Burying it!”  
“And  _ not  _ us?” Eegan tried to get close enough to strike out at the creature without allowing the fluid spreading across the floor to touch her boots, but the distance was too great.

_ And  _ somebody  _ isn’t throwing her lightsabers at it, so I may not want mine covered in that goo. _

Seeing the trajectory of Teragor’s efforts, Eegan got to work on the far side to meet her in the middle.

“Alar, get out of there!” Merse demanded. “My shots aren’t taking effect!”

“I can see that!” she called back. She dodged a glob of ooze that splattered through the air near her head. One final cut, saber in hand again— “Everybody  _ back! _ ”

She lunged for the exit without waiting to see if the Imperials complied.

Two and a half seconds later, the cracking of the ceiling gave way with a thunderous crash accompanied by a shriek and wet squish.

Eegan turned, feeling a sense of satisfaction at her timing as she saw that she had a couple meters give between where the spray of crushed creature had reached and where she now stood.

Teragor and Whisper stood a bit closer to that line, and the Sith turned narrowed eyes in her direction. “How did you know it was going to give early?”

“I could feel the faultlines. The stone was already flawed.”  
The Pureblood and Twi’lek exchanged a glance.

_ You didn’t feel it,  _ Eegan realized.  _ If you two had followed your usual procedure, you would be dead now, crushed under that stone. _

“This talent of yours. Does it work consistently?” Teragor asked, her mismatched saber blades drawing back into their hilts.

Eegan extinguished her own saber. “Very.”  
“Useful.”

“Yes. Though I usually use it to make sure I don’t end up in a situation where I might have something collapse on or under me, instead of using it to damage a piece of history.”

The spines Teragor possessed in place of eyebrows rose. “Of course. You’re  _ that  _ sort.”

“Yes, I’m _that_ sort. Do you usually leave such wreckage behind you in your _archaeological_ endeavors?”

A smile showed Teragor’s white teeth, gleaming against the dark purple of her skin tone. “What do you think, Whisper?”

“I like her.”

Teragor gave a nod. “We’re going back in to find the artifact. If you’d like to accompany us, you may. Avoid the liquid remains.”

“You’re  _ inviting  _ me to explore with you?”

Teragor shrugged. “Is such an alliance intolerable to you?”

“It’s just a  _ little  _ obvious you want my architectural sense,” Eegan replied, tone dry.

“Difficult to see why no one dying today is a particularly  _ bad  _ thing.”  
Eegan squinted at her. “You are either a most peculiar Sith, or you are laying on the Charm-the-Jedi tactic on too thick.”

“Tell your sniper he’s going to lose line-of-sight if he doesn’t accompany us. We’re going into the lair.”

“Oh,  _ Korriban  _ no.” Merse appeared, sniper rifle slung over his shoulder, scowling.

Teragor peered at him in mild confusion. “I have never seen a human with this skin tone before. Were you born so pale, or do you have a skin condition?”

Eegan tried to hide her silent  _ oh  _ with the back of her hand.

Merse bristled. “It takes  _ effort  _ each morning, Lady.”

“It appears the black marks around your eyes and lips are not tattoos either,” Teragor observed. “You  _ paint them on  _ every day?”

The man scowled at her. “I do, genius.”

“Whatever  _ for _ ?”

“It’s an  _ aesthetic. _ ”

Teragor sent him an unconvinced glance and looked to Whisper.

The Twi’lek shrugged. “It’s called Ieval, Master.”

_ Now you’ve done it. _

“No—  _ no.  _ I’m  _ not  _ Ieval. Ieval are kids with authority issues thinking they’re being edgy by wearing black. I’m  _ Diaev.  _ It’s a lifestyle, it’s music, it’s architecture, it’s literature—”

Teragor’s confused expression cleared. “Pardon me. I mistook your caliber. Why don’t you wait here and guard our exit?”

“Like  _ frip. _ ” Merse’s eyes narrowed. “Where Alar goes, I go.”

Eegan shrugged. “There you have it. You don’t have to listen to his music if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t listen to music,” was Teragor’s baffling reply. “Do either of you have experience in navigating ceilings with hooks?”

“Yes,” Eegan replied.

Merse frowned. “No.”

“Learn fast.” Teragor turned to lead them back into the building.

Whisper tossed the black-nerf-tailed human two grapple shooters.

Eegan waved her own at the Twi’lek, who sent her a nod.

They picked their way over the rubble, Eegan grimacing as some of the stones sank down just a little when she put weight on them.

Last thing she needed was for one of these blocks to slide sideways on the mess they covered and twist her ankle.

At the opening in the wall she looked back at the others. “You clearly want me to go first so you don’t put weight on the ceiling where it shouldn’t go?”

“Well deduced, Nameless Knight.”

Eegan sighed within.  _ I suppose, given the multiple potentials for harm here...  _ “Eegan Alar. Alright. I’ll lead, but only if Teragor follows to give headsup to anything I should know about before I get there. You don’t want me eaten by something, because I  _ won’t _ tell you where there’s problem spots. Got it?”

“Of course.”

“And Merse brings up the rear.”

He sent her a grim nod.

“Let’s go, then.” Getting a firm grip of the liquid cable dispenser, Eegan aimed for a structurally sound area of the ceiling and fired. She held the switch for the tiny motor to lift her above the slime trail, then paused a little way below the ceiling. Aiming the second one she triggered it, then retracted the original hook to send it even farther ahead.

The four of them worked their way down the long circular ramp until the room opened up, the stench hanging so thick here it was difficult to breathe.

On a brighter note, the large platform that contained a pedestal and an object covered in a dust-ridden and insect-chewed cloth looked clear of any creature slobber.

“Wait,” Teragor murmured. The floor is probably rigged.”

Eegan nodded, hooking her cables to the harness partially concealed by her robes. She could hear Merse doing the same behind her, but Teragor edged until she was directly above the artifact before she did so. Whisper followed until she hung nose-to-nose with the Sith.

A small smile lit the Twi’lek’s face.

And then she was settling her legs around Teragor’s waist and letting go of her cables, bending backwards so she could hang upside-down to reach the artifact.

Teragor twitched her hand, lifting the covering off of the object and holding it suspended with the Force.

Nimble fingers held a scanner close as eyes narrowed to read the tiny screen.

“Looks clear,” Whisper rasped.

Teragor gave a tense nod. “Go, then.”

The Twi’lek slipped on thick gloves and tugged a bag from her belt. She carefully lifted the orb and slipped it within the bag.

Even as she did so, the entire platform collapsed except for the pedestal.

At the base of the deep drop, Eegan could make out sharpened stakes and several skeletons.

“Unlucky dogs,” Merse murmured behind her.

Eegan gave a grim nod of agreement.

The Sith and her slave seemed unbothered by the trap, the Twi’lek strapping the bag to her back and then curling up to face her master again. Violet eyes sparkled into golden ones, and a delighted grin crossed the pink lips.

Teragor murmured something in a harsh, grating tongue, and Whisper practically glowed in pride as she reached up to take hold of her cables again, allowing her ankles to unhook from around Teragor’s body.

“Can we go now?” Merse asked.

Eegan inwardly sighed. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to. I don’t have the equipment to explore this place fully. We’ll have to come back.”

“ _ Or  _ we could let  _ someone else  _ do this while we find something else,” Merse suggested.

“You just didn’t appreciate the decomposed Hutt,” Eegan teased. “Alright. Let’s get out of here.”  _ And be ready to act should either of these Imperials try to kill me from behind. _

The journey out turned out to be as uneventful as the journey in. And for that, Eegan could not bring herself to be sorry.

Once safely outside the temple, Eegan looked up at the statue Teragor had mentioned. A tall rendition of a bipedal creature with long fingers and only half a head, the rest of it long crumbled away.

“I don’t know,” Eegan demurred. “Could easily be a Selkath.”

Teragor shrugged, holding out her hands for Whisper to turn over the satchel. “That  _ is  _ what they all say.”

Eegan turned an amused gaze to her. “But in reality it’s a Rakata from the Infinite Empire?”  
“Laugh all you want,” Teragor dismissed. “But the Infinite Empire struck close to me, and I intend to find out how.”

“How close?” Eegan asked, not even sure what they were speaking of.

Golden eyes glittered up at her as the Sith knelt, bearing a grim expression on her face. “Too close.”

Teragor unwrapped the orb, revealing it to the sunlight.

Eegan glanced it over, but it looked to be a simple ball of black glass, or perhaps a highly polished stone.

“Is it whole enough?” Whisper asked.

Teragor held both hands around it without actually laying a finger on the smooth surface. She closed her eyes, focusing the Force around her.

Eegan’s lightsaber crystal hummed a concerned song, and she sent a pulse of comfort to it.

But had the owner of the purple blade done the same before it had been stolen away from its probably dead song mate?

Teragor’s shoulders sagged, and anger sparked in her Force signature. “No. It’s just like the others.” She stood, glaring down at the orb with her hands planted on her hips. “We’ll just have to try again.”

There was so much disappointment flooding the Force that it triggered sympathy in Eegan.  _ Sure. That makes so much survival sense, Alar. Force take it.  _ “What was it you were hoping to find?”

“A communication orb intact enough to give some clues as to where to find a Rakatan stronghold.”

Eegan absently rubbed at the scar over her right eye. “You seem very certain the civilization existed.”

“On Tatooine an artifact was discovered. I knew one of the scientists there. The relic  _ possessed  _ them, and nearly the whole team is dead now. The report by the Sith who cleaned up the mess left a lot be desired, but there is no doubt that there was the essence of a Rakatan trapped within the box, and it wanted to take  _ over.  _ If  _ one  _ could wreck such havoc, what could a species of them do?”

“You seek revenge, then?”

“Revenge against  _ that  _ Rakatan would be pointless now. I seek it because this one demonstrated clear animosity towards the Empire, and I will defend her against all threats.”  
Eegan could feel the ring of truth in the words. “You genuinely think them to be a threat of that scale.”

“I do.”  
“And what will you do once you find them?”

“Alert my homeland if possible, to prepare. If not possible, see if I can neutralize the threat myself.”

Eegan gave a slow nod. “And where are you headed to try to find another orb?”  
“Alar,” Merse warned.

A sheepish smile touched her lips.

“You are thinking of coming?” Whisper asked.

Eegan stared into the surprised eyes of Teragor. “Is such an alliance intolerable to you?”

One of the spikes above Teragor’s eyes rose as she recognized the quote.

“And why would you desire to accompany us?” the Sith asked. “I was under the impression you did not seek weapons.”  
“I seek unknown civilizations. And if you’re even one tenth right, this would be the single largest discovery of our generation. Of several generations.”

“Glory?”

“Knowledge.”

Teragor considered. “I thought you were assigned here by your Council.”

“And I assumed you were here for yours. I choose my own assignments, and it appears you’re running your own.”  
“She could be useful,” Whisper pointed out. “Backup, structure sounding, and we wouldn’t have to pay her.”  
Eegan spread her hands. “I’m an easy keeper. I’d just like you to share your knowledge of this with me.”

“It’s a trap,” Merse asserted.

Eegan shrugged. “You can stay home if you like.”

He swore under his breath.

“While I can see benefits for this temporary alliance, I also see nights of sleeplessness because none of us can trust one another,” Teragor replied, tone dry. “It may be more hassle than it’s worth.”

“It’s against who I am to murder in cold blood. And you seem to have little interest in spilling blood needlessly, and would I be right in assuming Whisper obeys your orders?”

“Always,” Whisper murmured.

Teragor sent her a fond smile, then looked back to Eegan. “And your sniper?”  
“He wouldn’t wreck the best discovery of my life just because he dislikes Imperials. And none of us wants the war to restart. Where are we going next?”

Teragor eyed her, an almost marveling look on her face.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Merse muttered.

_ I wasn’t raised to hide in safety while there were dangerous unknowns to be explored. And Teragor is right. If something that dangerous is out there, we need to know... and not just the Sith Empire needs a warning. _

It could turn out to be nothing but a final surprise battle with the Sith and her slave, or it could turn out to be important.

_ Either way, we’ll be ready. _

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

Hurtling through hyperspace alongside the Sith’s ship, Eegan finally looked over at the man staring intently at her.

“You’re trying to kill us,” he asserted once he saw he had her attention.

Eegan smiled. “Would it be such a terrible way to go? In the pursuit of mysteries?”

“ _ Yes. _ ”

“Just think of all the Diaev novels you could write focused around the haunted ruins we’ll visit!”

He narrowed his heavily-outlined eyes. “You mock.”  
“I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with the past that refuses to stay where it belongs,” Eegan chuckled. “They become tales to spellbind children until the one that kills you.”

“You’re not worried at all?”  
Eegan shrugged. “I can’t control when and where I die. I can only control where and when I live. This is the life I chose, the one I wanted, Merse. This is what I love doing. And if there’s a possibility of danger or discovery, I’m going to follow it. Now, Taris isn’t friendly to the Empire, so if you want to leave there, I would not begrudge—”

“I’m not leaving you.”

She gave a solemn nod to her head. “Alright, then. I’m going to go wake up Trix.”

The sound of her footsteps clanged against the grating of the floor as she moved out of the cockpit and to the charging station. There the resident historian and translator, TR333-6, stood switched off. Eegan’s fingers found the small button, pressed it, and smiled as golden photoreceptors lit up so close to her own eyes.

“Good morning, Sunshine.”

“I found us another wild bantha to chase.”

“Delightful! Perhaps now would be an excellent opportunity to contact your dear friend Triscalion?”

“ _Dear friend_ Calion, huh? Sure you’re not buttering me up so you can talk to his _ship_?”

“That is definitely what I’m doing, Master. If the two of you would simply fall in love, I could spend time with her more often.”

Eegan chuckled, patted Trix on the shoulder. “Right, Trix. Just make sure you use the time well, because the connection might be haphazard out here.”  
“Oh, I always use the time we have well. Unlike you and Calion.”  
“ _ Is Trix trying to set you up with Calion again? _ ” called Merse from the cockpit.

Eegan turned to prep the long-range comms. “Yes!”

“Mother of the night!” he laughed. “That droid.”

“I fail to see the amusement,” Trix replied, voice prim as he moved to stand by the comm table.

“Don’t worry about it.” Eegan pressed a kiss to his metal cheek and made the connection.

The droid shook his head. “I am  _ taken,  _ Master. Though if this is why you refuse to make advances towards—”

“Calion. Greetings.”  
A heavily-scarred Mirialan smiled back, his green skin shaded blue by the connection. “Eegan. How goes the hunt?”

“In a different direction than I anticipated. Something potentially interesting has shown up, but I wanted to make sure people knew where I was going.”

“ _ She’s traveling with a Sith now _ !” shouted Merse from the cockpit.

Triscalion Relt’s eyebrow arched. “You’re doing what?”

“Ran into a Sith at a building I wanted to investigate. She’s looking for— get this— the Infinite Empire.”

Instead of replying with incredulity, Calion froze. “Dear Force.”

“What?”

“Yeah,  _ what _ ?” Merse stepped into the room, feet light as a tooka’s on the grating.

Seeing that his belligerent affect had disappeared into an expression and tone of quiet concern, Eegan felt a slight shiver down her back. _ He’s genuinely worried now. _ “Talk to me, Calion.”  
“The Empire’s getting restless. And just three days ago an operation on Balmorra was unraveled. They know there was Jedi involvement. And Republic.”

“Wait,” Eegan broke in, not quite believing her ears. “The Republic _and_ the Jedi were doing something on an Imperial world?”

“Arming and organizing the rebellion. Yes. There were Jedi and troopers on planet. Fighting the Imperial troops and the Sith sent to clean up the mess.”  
Eegan planted both hands on the holotable and shook her head. “ _ Kark. _ ”

“We lost good people there. And the Empire took some prisoners.”

“Not covered by the  _ treaty,  _ so they aren’t prisoners of war, just treaty breakers.” Eegan moved her hands from the table to plant them on her hips and turn away, frustration flooding her. “What were we  _ thinking _ ? Anything could be happening to them now.”  
“We’re trying to locate them.”

“This is a  _ big  _ mess-up, Calion.”

“I know. But the people of Balmorra reached out to us and asked for help. They were in a bad place, Eegan. If we don’t help the people who beg for it and  _ need  _ it, what do we become?”  
She spun around to glare at him. “You’ll bring the  _ war  _ back, remember? And how many people did  _ that  _ wreck?”

“Okay,” Merse interrupted. “Eegan, you’re an explorer. Not a soldier. Calion, you’re a bit focused on the big picture. What we’re doing right now is heading to Taris with a Sith to try to hunt down a child’s bedtime rhyme. So if we could get back to Calion’s reservations about that, please? Leave the politics for another day?”

Eegan shook her head. “You’re right. Sorry, Calion.”

“No, I get it. Don’t apologize. Everyone’s backed to the wall facing a blaster’s mouth these days. Which way you dive is intensely personal. Reason I’m concerned about  _ this  _ is that since the truce is uneasy and may not hold long, if this Sith gets her hands on a weapon too old, our current technology may not be able to answer it before we’ve taken heavy losses.”  
“It might be the edge the Empire needs to restart the war?” Eegan clarified. “It nearly bankrupt them last time. Do they  _ really  _ want to start that again?”

“They don’t  _ like  _ it that we exist, Eegan. Conquest is important to the Empire. They only stopped last time  _ because  _ the money ran out.”

Visions of the Temple in flames wandered behind Eegan’s eyes, bringing up uneasy pains. “Right.”  
“Maybe the Infinite Empire never existed. Maybe it’s a legend based around some old weapon or sorcery. Either way, if the Sith get their hands on it, we need to know what it  _ is  _ before it hits us between the eyes.”  
Eegan growled in the back of her throat. “You want me to  _ spy  _ for you now? Calion, how many times do I need to say it:  _ I don’t get involved _ ? I’m here to study the past, not change the future.”

“I get being dragged into something you didn’t sign up for.”  
Eegan’s gaze flicked to the scars carved up his cheek from his mouth by a Mandalorian knife, then away in shame. “I know. Listen, Calion. I’m not going to spy on her for you and send you regular updates. It’s just not going to happen. But if we find something that could harm people, I’ll do my best to make sure it doesn’t happen, and get the word to you. Alright?”

“Thank you, Eegan.”

“Sure.”

He turned his head to listen to a muffled voice. “I have to go,” he announced, looking back to Eegan. “Flesh Raiders are attacking again.”

“What do you mean  _ again _ ?” Eegan protested.

“They’ve organized and have been raiding all through the Padawan training grounds, and almost to the Temple itself. With blasters. We dealt with the Fallen behind it, but he might not have been as in control as he thought. The attacks are continuing.”

Eegan huffed out a sigh. “I thought we relocated to Tython to be  _ away  _ from war.”  
“You have no idea. And Eegan, be careful with the Sith. We’ve had a few infiltrate the Republic and cause major disaster. If the war re-starts and you’re out of communication... it might start in your treasure party as well.”

Eegan gave a nod. “I’ll trust my gut. May the Force be with you, Calion.”

“And you. Please come back alive.”

As the connection shut down, Trix let out what sounded very much like a sigh. “Always a delight, spending time with her.”

“We really don’t need the details,” Merse protested, tone dry. “Alar. Want to contact our new friends and find out if Lord Has No Time For Music is going to use her clearance to get us to the ground on Taris, or if we have to duck the blockade ourselves?”

Eegan nodded, tapping in the new frequency. “Lord Teragor?”

“Jedi.”

“Why learn your name if she wasn’t going to use it?” Merse muttered.

Eegan ignored him. “I assume the Imperial blockade of Taris is still in effect?”

“Certainly.”  
“I assume you don’t want me to shoot my way through?”  
Teragor huffed a smirk. “Certainly not. I have the codes. Just don’t answer the comm. Have your familiar do it if they call.”

“I’m not a familiar. Or a pet.”

“Merse it is, then,” Eegan interupted. “See you on the ground.”

* * *

 

Eegan eased her ship through the blockade, a small part of her wondering if the enemy ships would begin to fire the moment her escape route was cut off.

They didn ’t. 

_ Score one for my gut. _

Broken spires pierced the sky like burned-out skeletons. Eegan followed Teragor down, landing on what may have once been a causeway before it fell. It lay, nearly flat, close to the ground.

Eegan peered out the cockpit’s front window and wondered just  _ what  _ substance the toxic-looking pools nestled in Taris’ dirt actually consisted of.

“We couldn’t land on the daylight side of the planet?”

Eegan threw her companion a cheerful smile as she left the pilot’s seat. “Thought you didn’t like the sun.”

“I like searching for ancient artifacts on a shattered world in the dead of night  _ less. _ ”

“All those books you read.”

Merse shrugged, the gesture eloquent, but he followed her out and held her backpack while she blew through the room, grabbing up a few extra supplies, just in case.

“Trix, the usual.”

The droid waved. “No one is getting in, Master.”

“Okay. Let’s do this.” A smile escaped Eegan as she tied her hair back and lowered the landing ramp.

Merse slung his rifle over his back and checked the fit of his long knife in its sheath.

Together, they left the safe confines of the ship and didn’t look back as Trix closed up behind them.

They found Whisper eyeing the crumbled buildings around them with electrobinoculars.

Teragor knelt on one knee, hand out, her forehead furrowed in a scowl.

Eegan felt the Force twisting around the Sith’s fingers. Holding up a hand to prevent Merse from speaking up and interrupting the Lord’s concentration, Eegan peered at the buildings, feeling for the fault lines in ferrocrete and durasteel.

_ She picked a solid landing place, at any rate. _

A small puff of air escaped the Sith and her expression eased. “It’s definitely here. But there are too many screams to hear it plainly.”

“Can’t imagine why,” Merse returned, dry.

The Sith shrugged. “If Taris had been stronger, this would not have happened. It was weak. It deserved to fall.”

“Yeah? All those people who  _ weren’t _ soldiers?”

“Easy,” Eegan interrupted. “What are we looking for here? Assuming it’s  _ not  _ a fight.”

“Another orb.”

_ Let’s hope this one’s intact.  _ “Lead the way.”

Whisper led them to an opening into the disheveled buildings that she’d spotted.

The Force users made the two-meter jump easily, using the Force to haul their companions up to the slanted tunnel that had once been a city street.

_ Though, this far down in the city, it probably wasn’t in much better shape before everything fell on top of it. _

Eegan and Teragor moved side-by-side, eyes peeled for any signs of trouble.

“How far in?” Eegan asked.

“I don’t know.” Teragor paused, extending her hand again, the shadows playing weirdly through her fingers. “Ahead and down.”  
“Below ground level, then?”

“Possibly. Blasters out, Whisper.”

The Twi’lek complied, and Eegan caught a hint of the glint of Merse’s long, thick knife. She drew her saber and ignited it to light their path, Teragor doing the same.

“So. Your saber’s crystal. Not this one, but the purple one.”  _ Wrong time, Eegan.  _

Ah, well. Too bad.

“What about it?”

“You didn’t turn it red before using it?”

“Its song already matched me,” Teragor replied, a hint of confusion in her voice. “It bonded willingly.”

_ A kyber crystal bonded  _ willingly  _ with a Sith? _

That did  _ not  _ happen often. If Sith wanted to wield weapons of other colors, they had to steal a bonded crystal from its bondmate, and not forge their own bond with it.

Force one of the delicate souls to merge with something so dark, and the rocks cracked and bled.

“It sang to you?” Eegan pursued.

Teragor shrugged. “So? There was a cave on Korriban, and there was a song. I followed it, found the stone. Is that  _ not  _ how Jedi do things?”

_ No. That’s _ exactly  _ how Jedi do things.  _ “Is it a common occurrence for the Sith to find crystals in the wild?”

“Never heard of it before. I was surprised when I found the crystal; I did not know what the song meant. But once it bonded with me, I saw little point in harming it.”  
_ Aren’t you interesting.  _ “So what were you doing before the Infinite Empire challenged you?”

“Studying under an idiot.”

“I see.”  
Teragor paused, peering through a jagged hole in the floor. She crouched, lowering her blade in, trying to see the bottom. “This way. Whisper, you have the antitoxin ready?”

“Yes, Master.”  
“You think there might be rakghouls after what  _ happened  _ to this place?” Merse asked, and there was no hint of mockery in his tone now.

“They are resilient, and it rarely pays to be unprepared,” the Sith replied, dropping herself through the hole.

Eegan sent Merse a grimacing smile. “Here we go, then.”

At the bottom they found a cavern, the bottom half made of stone and dirt, the upper half of metal.

_ We are now officially  _ under  _ Taris. _

Hopefully rakghouls were the  _ worst  _ thing down here.

“Tell me, Alar. As a youngling, staring up at the stars, you whispered to yourself,  _ I want to be in horror holos when I grow up _ ?”

Eegan chuckled. “Merse.”  
“With no war, how would she distinguish herself otherwise?” Teragor pointed out, leading them deeper.

Eegan could hear water dripping nearby, a steady, haunting sound. “Is this how you are going to distinguish  _ yourself _ ?”

“I already have.”

Eegan nodded. “I see.”

“The Dark Council knows what happened to my former master. Fripping Revanite.”

_ Wait...  _ “A what now?”

“Cultist. Traitor to the Emperor.”   
“How is the Emperor these days?” Merse chimed in. “Still missing?”

Teragor shrugged. “If he doesn’t want to be seen, I doubt he will show himself to make you feel better.”

Merse mouthed the word  _ dead  _ in Eegan’s direction.

_ I wouldn’t count on it quiet yet. Sith have a funny way of coming back just when you thought you were safe. _

Though just  _ what  _ the Emperor might be  _ doing  _ wasn’t a comfortable thought.

_ We just better hope he developed a fear of watching eyes, and isn’t organizing a new war effort. _

“Wait,” Whisper hissed, lifting her electrobinoculars again. “I think we have company.”

Eegan stretched out in the Force, found minds decayed into almost a complete lack of sentience, accompanied by an all-consuming hunger.

_ Whoever you were before you ended up infected, I am sorry,  _ she thought. 

That was the grand total of the eulogy she was allowed before deformed shapes sprang from the shadows to try to devour her.

Sun-deprived flesh and bone gave way before saber and blaster bolt, the battle hardly a real contest.

There were only five of them, and they didn’t get close enough to scratch or bite.

“Everybody good?” Teragor asked.

Each confirmed before the Sith led them deeper.

Adrenaline still marching through her veins, Eegan stared into the darkness and wondered just how far they would have to travel to find—

“Forgotten  _ gods, _ ” Whisper swore.

Teragor raised her saber higher, a cautious smile curving her lips. It vanished as she handed the weapon to her slave without a second’s thought.

_ Definitely not normal. _

Whisper held it high as Teragor knelt beside a dimly glowing sphere. “It’s still whole! Help me with this, Jedi, if you please?”

Eegan kept hold of her saber— now extinguished— and crouched opposite the Sith.

“Keep an even pressure pressing in from all sides while I trip the catch,” Teragor explained. “Don’t let it fluctuate, and don’t touch it.”

Eegan found the orb with her mind, drawing the Force tight around it in a firm grip.

She could sense Teragor reaching inside it to adjust something.

The apparently seamless sphere opened like a flower, the movement silent.

Eegan stared down at it, amazed as Teragor let out a low chuckle of triumph.

“What now?” Eegan asked, peering into the dark interior of the orb.

Teragor sent her an amused grimace, then placed her hand  _ inside  _ the opened flower.

“Whisper, I hope she willed you all her good stuff,” Merse grumbled.

A sharp  _ ping  _ sounded and a slight shiver of pain traced through the edge of Teragor’s Force signature.

“Are you alright?” Eegan asked.

“A small price to pay for  _ this. _ ” Teragor pulled her hand away, off a needle that now shone wet in the saber’s light.

Red dots and lines began to glow against the floor, filling a ten-meter circle with the sphere as its center.

“Is that a map?” Eegan asked, amazed.

Teragor smiled, feral and satisfied in the crimson glow. “A map, and, if I’m right, a signaling method. Can’t you feel the strange resonance each of the dots has?”

The whole map felt as if it might be vibrating on a strange frequency, as if it might shatter in an instant.

“We got this far once before, but it blew up in our faces because we opened the orb inaccurately.” Teragor rose, peering around at the dots.

“Nothing seems labeled. How do we know what planets these are?”

“The sphere marks Rakata Prime. Everything will be built around that.”

Merse frowned. “If no one knows where Rakata Prime  _ is,  _ how does that help?”  
“It helps because  _ this  _ is clearly the Core Worlds. Look at the configuration of the planets.”

Eegan moved to peer down at them, had to agree. “Are we trying to find Rakata Prime?”

“No. Nothing of use is left there. The decedents of the Rakata are sniveling primitives now.”

“Are they, now.” Eegan watched her with a feeling of grim amusement.

“Revan tried to find out what remained. He found very little beyond the Star Forge.”

“And you know this...  _ how _ ?” Merse asked.

“He worked for us for a time.” Teragor shrugged. “Perhaps you’d forgotten.”

Eegan winced.

The man had slain millions in his time.

And not  _ all  _ of them had been when he was a Sith.

She shook it off. “If we’re not looking for the homeworld, then what _are_ we searching for?”

“Where technology, and perhaps Rakata themselves, may have escaped their cataclysm. They left these spheres so the few who survived could find one another. There. Do you feel that, Jedi? That one feels different.”  
Eegan studied one of the identical spheres, feeling for it in the Force. “You’re right.”

“Whisper. Do you have the scan complete?”  
“Yes, and our destination marked.”

Eegan glanced back and found Merse holding the Sith’s saber up while Whisper operated her scanner.

_ Oh, look at you,  _ she crooned in her mind, allowing her face and eyes to speak it loud and clear.  _ Making friends. _

He scowled at her, but said nothing.

“Well?” Eegan asked the Twi’lek. “Where are we headed next?”

“Coruscant.”

Eegan stared at her in blank shock. “ _ What _ ?”

 

 


End file.
